1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a measurement apparatus for an electronic device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a measurement apparatus for semiconductor device characteristics of an integrated circuit device or discrete electronic circuit device, and to a connection apparatus used for such measurement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the related technologies shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been known as apparatuses for measuring the electrical characteristics of a device to be tested (or “device under test”, hereinafter referred to as DUT), such as integrated circuit devices and discrete electronic circuit devices consisting of semiconductors.
FIG. 1 shows a known example of an apparatus for measuring electrical characteristics by causing a probe apparatus 100 to probe a DUT 50. In this known example, a current-voltage characteristic measurement unit 20 (or a source monitor unit or a source measure unit, which is hereinafter referred to as an “SMU”), an LCR (inductance-capacitance-resistance) meter 22, and a pulse generator 24, which are independent apparatuses, are provided in an equipment rack 200. In the SMU 20, a direct-current voltage source, a current source, a voltmeter, and an ammeter are integrated so as to be usable in an arbitrary combination. The LCR meter 22 can measure inductance, electrical capacitance, and resistance. The pulse generator 24 generates a pulse to be applied to the DUT 50. The SMU 20, the LCR meter 22, and the pulse generator 24 are connected to the probe apparatus 100, which probes specific electrical contacts and so on of the DUT 50, via respective independent measurement cables. In the known example, when measuring a different characteristic of the DUT 50, an operator manually replaces the wires used for measuring the DUT 50 to perform the measurement. Thus, this example has the advantage of being able to carry out measurement accurately, since an appropriate configuration can be used for each type of measurement. However, the example also suffers from the drawback that measurement operation is inefficient, since the operator needs to manually replace the connections.
FIG. 2 shows another known example in which a switching matrix 300 is combined with the SMU 20, the LCR meter 22, the pulse generator 24, and so on to perform measurement. In this example, appropriate control of the switching matrix 300 allows various types of measurement to be automatically performed. This configuration, however, has a problem in that it is difficult to accurately measure the electrical characteristics of the DUT 50. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,484 discloses a technique that connects a plurality of SMUs via a switching matrix.